The Eagle River has become one of Colorado’s best trout fisheries and continues to improve yearly. Mining pollution that has been cleared up by the EPA’s Superfund sites in the 1990’s has improved the Eagle River in all aspects. The Eagle River drops over 6,000 feet from it’s headwaters high in the Swatch Mountain Range. The 70 mile course of the Eagle River above the Colorado River confluence at Dotsero offers the angler a multitude of opportunities.
Eagle River (Upper) – Headwaters to Gore Creek
The upper section of the Eagle River runs from it’s headwaters to the confluence of Gore Creek near the town of Minturn. Riffle runs and pocket water is the character of the river. Fish average 1o to 14 inches with a predominant population of brown trout.
Eagle River (Middle) – Gore Creek to Eagle
As more tributaries join, the river grows in size and character. The middle section of the Eagle runs from Gore Creek to the Town of Eagle. In this 30 mile long section, the river has a variety of structure from cascading flumes near Dowd Junction to long wide slow runs below Edwards. There a number of public access areas including BLM , Colorado State Wildlife Area and Eagle County Open Space.
Eagle River (Lower) – Eagle to Dotsero
The lower section from Eagle to Dotsero also has a variety of public accesses. Float fishing is possible during June, July and into August on most years on the lower 2 sections beginning at Edwards. There are abundant wild brown and cut-bow trout that average 12- 20 inches. Because this is one of Colorado’s few un-dammed rivers the insect population is prolific.
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